Bryan's Guide Badlands National Park ft Pierre to rapid city

South Dakota is the setting for one of America's most incredible top secret projects: a field of 150 Minuteman II nuclear missiles, armed and ready for launch at a moment's notice during the Cold War. In the 1990's, the whole site was unarmed and preserved for future generations to visit and learn from as the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site; it's currently the only National Parks System unit dedicated to Cold War history.

Historically, the badlands were settled by enterprising pioneers who were able to make the most out of the rugged landscape by living in sod homes, exactly like the one you'll find at Prairie Homestead. One of the few original remaining sod houses in the country, the Prairie Homestead is preserving the unique way of life these pioneers developed. Slip into a period costume and tour the sod house, outhouse, barn, chicken coop, and other buildings on the homestead to better understand and appreciate just how easy we have it today.

The park's Ben Reifel Visitor Center has an awesome Fossil Prep Lab that educates tourists on the region's incredible prehistoric features. Fossils are wildly abundant here. In fact, in 2010, a seven-year-old girl found an incredibly rare and very well preserved saber tooth tiger skull. She, thankfully, reported her find to the rangers, which helped in the discovery of even more fossils in the surrounding area. Think about it... you could be the next person to find an ancient, maybe even extinct, animal's remains!

At 10 miles round trip, this is the longest trail in the park and offers the most to see. You'll pass by badlands formations as you cross the park on this hike, which ends at a .25 mile interpretive boardwalk that has replicas of the fossils of now-extinct creatures before taking you back to the trailhead.

Wall Drug might have started off as a simple drug store in a tiny little town, but it quickly grew into a full-fledged tourist attraction after the owner's wife came up with a brilliant plan to offer free ice water to tourists on their way to Mount Rushmore. The pharmacy evolved into a virtual mall, complete with a Western art gallery, a chapel, souvenir shops, a soda fountain and restaurant, an arcade, and kitschiness galore. There are huge statues dotted around, including a giant jackalope, an apatosaurus, a tepee, a stagecoach, and more than a few cowboys and outlaws. Their advertising campaign pretty much set the standard for tourist attractions: you can find billboards advertising Wall Drug lining the highways-- especially along I-90 between Minnesota and Billings, Montana.

But, Wall Drug more than a tourist trap-- it's an icon. It brings in 2 million visitors each year... to a town that people would ordinarily drive right past without a second thought. But the fact that, even though it has grown into a massive complex of kitsch and touristy cliches, they'll still serve you a free cup of ice water when you pull up, really does say it all.

Badlands is located near Wounded Knee, where the 1890 massacre of Lakota Indians by the US Army took place. In fact, the last Ghost Dance took place in the Stronghold Unit of Badlands National Park, the park's Southern half. The Ghost Dances were religious ceremonies put on by Paiute prophet Wovoka, who was determined to keep the US Government from taking Lakota lands. The last Ghost Dance took place just days before the bloody battle at Wounded Knee.

The Wounded Knee Museum in Wall, SD is a great way to learn about this important event in American history. It features exhibits that tell the story of the massacre, and provides tons of great info about the Lakotas.

The Stronghold Unit of Badlands National Park is co-managed by the NPS and the Oglala Lakota tribe, so stopping by the museum before heading to that part of the park is a good way to learn about Lakota culture.

If you want to see a ton of prairie dogs in their natural habitat, then head to Badlands' Roberts Prairie Dog Town. Go at mid-day to see them at their most active: there are hundreds here, and even though many stay underground, there are always a few popping up, chatting, and bustling around. Don't feed these guys, or get too close, though. They're in the park and they're wild animals, so allow them to enjoy their natural habitat.